Retirement Housing Partner Tom Scaife said: “What is absolutely clear is that the sector is now firmly out of the blocks and has the potential to respond to increasingly eager investors and consumers.”

Knight Frank value private retirement living housing stock at £29bn, or twice the size of the care home sector, which was valued at £15.9bn in 2016.

The Elderly Accommodation Counsel estimates that around 6,000 new private retirement units will come to the market this year.

Tom added: “We are now seeing a more in-depth approach on delivery: investors are looking at different products, tenure mixes, and carrying out a thorough assessment across all sectors of the market. This will inevitably result in a more diversified offering.”